Horizon 2: Kevin Costner explains scrapped theatrical release after first part flops

Kevin Costner has addressed the scrapping of Horizon 2's planned theatrical release. Here he is pictured attending the film's photo call at the Venice International Film Festival on September 7, 2024. Photo / JB Lacroix / FilmMagic

The film’s US theatrical release was slated for August 16, but those plans were canned following the response to the first chapter.

Kevin Costner has discussed the decision to scrap the theatrical release of Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2, attributing it to the first film’s underwhelming performance at the box office.

The Yellowstone actor, 69, made the comments during the press conference for Horizon 2 at Venice Film Festival on Saturday (local time), admitting the first film “didn’t have overwhelming success”.

Both instalments of the epic Western series were directed, produced and co-written by Costner, who also stars in the lead role as Hayes Ellison. The first film, Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1, premiered at Cannes Film Festival in May to a seven-minute standing ovation and was theatrically released in the US on June 28. However, the film received mixed reviews and was a box-office flop, grossing US$36 million ($58.3m) worldwide against a budget of around US$100m ($162m).

Both chapters of Costner’s self-financed passion project feature an ensemble cast including Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington and Giovanni Ribisi, all of whom reprised their roles for the sequel. At the time of writing, plans are underway to add a third and fourth chapter to the franchise.

To raise the money for the US$100m-plus ($164m-plus) production, Costner mortgaged his seaside estate in Santa Barbara, California. According to reports, he’s been trying to make Horizon for more than 30 years.

Kevin Costner as John Dutton in Yellowstone. Photo / Paramount

Costner told reporters at the press conference the decision not to release Horizon 2 in theatres was “probably was a reaction” to the first chapter’s disappointing box office performance.

“It didn’t have overwhelming success,” Costner said.

Horizon 2 was set to be released theatrically in the US on August 16 - about six weeks after the debut of Horizon’s first chapter - but it was a “studio decision” to scrap these plans, Costner said.

“For me, it fell back into my plan, which was I always wanted to come out with movies about five, six months apart. And that was going to allow me to come to Venice,” Costner continued. “I would have never come to Venice, because they won’t show the film here if it was already out.

“Alberto [Barbera, Venice Film Festival artistic director] bringing this here gave me my dream and didn’t allow it to be squashed,” he went on, adding: “F***, Venice keeps coming to my rescue.”

Horizon 2 was a last-minute addition to the Venice Film Festival line-up, with reports on July 31 confirming the film would premiere out-of-competition on the festival’s final day.

Costner added the setbacks have only “increased his desire” to proceed with the two upcoming chapters.

“Sometimes when things don’t come to us easily, we want to just step away. But there’s something in me that only increases my desire when something is not working,” Costner said.

“It’s a story, it’s a piece of entertainment that I think can stand the test of time. When I feel rejection, unlike anybody else, when I open my eyes from my disappointment, my desire is only increased.”

Horizon 2 continues the events of the first chapter of the Western, which is described as a “multi-faceted depiction of the Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West”. Principal photography for Horizon 3 began in May and is expected to conclude next year, Variety reports.

Towards the end of the press conference, Costner teased the third chapter as “devastating”, adding: “You get to know all these people, and life keeps coming at them and you will see that.”

“I don’t know how I’m going to make ‘Three’ right now,” he admitted. “But I’m going to make it.”

At the time of writing, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 has an average rating of 49% from critics on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 152 reviews, while its audience score is sitting at 70%. Ratings for the second instalment are not yet available, however, top critic Fionnuala Halligan has called it a “little more dynamic than the opener”.

In his review for AP, Mark Kennedy branded the first chapter an “overstuffed first take” that “struggles with poor editing and an overabundance of characters”.

In a review for the New Zealand Listener, Russell Baillie gave Horizon two out of five and deadpanned that, like its title, the film was “flat, distant and goes on forever”.

“Some who think they don’t make ‘em like they used to may well like it. The problem is Kev doesn’t make them like Kev used to, either,” he added.

Following Horizon’s premiere at Cannes in May, it was reported the film received a seven-minute standing ovation; a response that left the 69-year-old actor visibly emotional as chants of “Kevin! Kevin! Kevin!” filled the room.

Horizon 2 marks Costner’s fifth directing credit. After discussing the lukewarm response to Horizon, Costner told reporters: “I’ve had a lot of movies that way, that have stood the test of time.”

However, the 1995 post-apocalyptic action film Waterworld was another notable box-office flop; as a producer and the lead actor, Costner was heavily involved in the production, which at the time was the most expensive film ever made. It received mixed reviews from critics, and although it was initially unable to recoup its US$175m budget at the box office, the project later became profitable - primarily due to home entertainment sales.

According to Forbes, Costner’s top-grossing movies include his award-winning passion project Dances with Wolves, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and The Bodyguard.

The 69-year-old has recently found success with the neo-Western drama Yellowstone, serving as an executive producer and the series’ lead actor. In 2023, Costner won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama for his role as John Dutton III. Part two of its fifth season, which was intended to be its last, is set to debut on November 10; however, industry sources have claimed negotiations are under way for a sixth season.

The veteran actor, who has seven children, has been married twice; his “nightmare” divorce from Christine Baumgartner, his wife of almost 20 years, was finalised in February.